19/08/2023
What is the difference in a silent treatment and healthy boundaries?
A silent treatment is often fueled by stonewalling. This means that the toxic person who is ignoring you or punishing you is doing so either until:
Exhibit A. They get their way and you agree with them, feel sorry for them, or stroke their ego just to make them feel better.
B. Until you let whatever it is that’s hurt you deeply go, completely, and never speak of it again. They want you to prove that you will choose their dysfunction over their absence.
C. A toxic person LOVES for you to prove that you are still under their thumb by creating distance so they can accuse YOU of overreacting if you dare bring it up. It is a form of passive aggression that invokes reactive abuse. Aka, they mistreat you, you react, and they get to call you the outrageous one.
D. It’s done by toxic people to make you feel completely devalued, and inexistent to that person. It is used to control your emotions.
The difference between that type of abuse, and a healthy boundary is just that a healthy boundary is used as self-protection from further hurt, not in a malicious way to control another person’s wellbeing.
We may be accused of giving, “The silent treatment”, or doling out punishment when we start protecting ourselves, but take heart dear ones. There is a huge difference in intent. If you remain silent because you are sick of hurting, and can’t bear any more abuse, then you are not, “giving the silent treatment”, you are simply taking care of yourself. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are the one with communication issues just because you walked away from their constant mistreatment.
I was given the silent treatment periodically all my life until I finally said no more, and stopped going back for scraps of inconsistent attention.. so I moved on with estrangement. Ironically, I am now the one accused of punishing my abuser.
Please know the difference, it is important to protect yourself from blame shifting and gaslighting.